The Dressmaker

"A darkly satirical novel of love, revenge, and 1950s haute couture-- After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat--the town's only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics--and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly's mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion"--

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I read the book and watched the movie. I enjoyed the movie very much -- fun, quirky, over the top Aussie characters and great actors all around. Dressmaker Tilly returns to Dungatar after a childhood banishment to care for her ailing mother, Mad Molly. Exacting her revenge and recovering lost memories kept me engaged in both the novel and the movie. The makers of the movie varied from the plot of the book a little bit and morphed several characters together but kept the essence and feel of the book intact. The book is much darker in nature, especially the second half and the ending. I enjoyed watching the movie and seeing Ham's characters come to life, especially her beautiful couture creations.

I was really enjoying the book at first. I loved the fact that Tilly returned to her small hometown with an unusual skill. I was really rooting for her, hoping for a show of imagination and talent that would bring the town around. I was not expecting the extreme revenge scenarios and the death of her love interest. The downward spiral of the town, and Tilly, did nothing to support my belief in the positive ability of humans to rise above their situations and make the world a better place. It is stories like this that leave us filled with fear and hate. No matter how well it is written or how fully realized the characters are, if you want a story to do more then just entertain, there needs to be people and characters that you can admire and look up to. One of the only characters that I found redeemable was the cross-dressing police officer.

No imagination when it came to naming the villagers. Juvenile plot, no real tension anywhere. Waited the whole book for the revenge part and it made no sense when it came. This book was not worth the time it took to read.

I loved reading this book and look forward to the movie. A delicious combination of light, love and dark dark dark. The author has demonstrated a mastery of balancing voice, tone and color that make it hard to put down.
One criticism: It is hard to track who is who as we are given names of the villagers but little else to distinguish one from another. Collectively they may represent the many faces of our humanity, its dark side, as it shows up in our social collective.

Set in outback Victoria, Australia in the 1950's, The Dressmaker is an amazing microcosm of small town life. Tilly comes back from Europe to deal with all the deeply-held prejudices when her mother is ill and dying.Her Singer sewing machine is crucial to the story. Witty, quirky, this is revenge of Gothic proportions. If the film follows the book it will be just as enjoyable when I get to see it.Priceless.

Absolutely loved this book. Tilly returns home to to a small Australian country to, look after her ill mother. It doesn't take Tilly long to realize long-held hatreds and secrets still simmer along amongst the residents of the town.

This is good escape reading about a young Parisian dressmaker who returns to her isolated Australian town to care for her mother and has to confront her past. Her mother never married and she was an outcast the entire time she lived there. But her dressmaking skills force people to come to her. Add a kind-hearted town policeman who is a cross-dresser and loves to sew, and unexpected romance, and a variety of townspeople and you’ve got the elements for a good story that ends in delightful revenge.